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DHRacer
Tech Monkey
join:2000-10-10
Lake Arrowhead, CA

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DHRacer

Member

What? That makes no sense

Let me start with a qualifying statement. I work for a public school district and we make extensive use of E-rate funding to supply infrastructure needed for student learning and acheivement.

Some facts about E-rate:
Erate DOES NOT PAY FOR END DEVICES: NO COMPUTERS, iPADs etc! So this article to suggest that Orthodox schools shouldn't be getting Erate when they don't have any computers is ludicrous. They obviously get E-rate for the things E-rate does do.

Erate funds two things:

1. Priority 1 funding: Provides WAN links to school sites. This can be copper lines such as 56K lines, Fractional T-1s, full T-1s, multiples of such, or Fiber (such as FIOS like services). This also included Voice Phone services to school sites.

Priority 1 funding is funded and awarded first and is the most important component. If all the money is used up here, the next level, Priority 2, isn't funded at all. This hasn't happened yet but is rumoured to be the future as more and more districts apply for Erate funding and the money gets used up.

Priority 2 funding: Network Equipment

1. Servers if they provide erate qualified services (things that make a student be able to access the network/internet: DHCP, DNS, AD DC). Erate DOES NOT cover file servers, etc.

2. Network Infrastructure Hardware: Routers, Core Switches, Edge Switches, Wireless APs and Controllers. Does not pay for Management Software and does not pay for any hardware not approved by Erate themselves!

Now Erate was paying for maintenance in years before, but now it is not and schools that managed to purchase overly expensive networks and services with Erate funding are finding that they cannot afford the Maintenance now that they have to pay all that themselves.

E-rate does cover whatever the base, default warranty the products or services come with. It does not cover any additional extended warranties or services that do not come with the product at initial purchase.

That's it!

Now nothing is free. Schools and districts apply based on the percentage of free and reduced student lunches. This can range from 99% on down. However, the latest from Erate is that the minimum funding will only go to those districts at 90% or more. That means it goes to the Districts with the poorest students. The rest simply don't get Erate.

That also means that traditional budget funding by local bonds, raising taxes, etc, is difficult for areas with depressed economies, etc., so E-rate is very helpful for these Districts that otherwise don't have the surrounding socio-economic means to fully fund their school improvoment projects.

Erate does have systems in place for applying for, acquiring and then auditing in place that is very strict and specific and does have to be approved at the highest levels before you can even get anything.

But there is fraud and waste, even with all that, but it is limited. No matter the rules there are always those that learn to game the system.

Hope this info helps!

Edited to add: Forgot about Maintenance and added a bit on that.
mj3431
join:2003-04-21
STL, MO

mj3431

Member

And I thought I was the only one that can see the good this program provides. There's no denying that fraud will happen but it's not like we read about it every day. I can personally that the PIA reviews and auditing have definitely gotten more comprehensive over the last few years and that's why we are hearing about these abusers being caught.

It's not a perfect program but it really does help.

Sensible
@comcastbusiness.net

Sensible to DHRacer

Anon

to DHRacer
While the E-Rate does not pay for computers or phones, it does require that the applicants have sufficient quantities of end user devices to utilize the services sought. (See Item 25 on the Form 471.) So a school which has no computers in instructional areas cannot apply for anything but voice services.

It seems odd that Yeshiva Avir Yakov, which says it has 50 computers connected to the Internet and 225 rooms with a phone, received almost $500,000 in Internal Connections in 2011-2012, and over $500,000 in 2010-2011. A million dollars for a network with 50 computers and phone system for 225 phones? It strains credulity.

The E-Rate is a great program. But some applicants are abusing it.